


We Watch and Burn and Reign

by The_Marron



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman vs. Robin (2015), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Court of Owls!Tim, Emotional Manipulation, Jason Todd Has Issues, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Talon!Jason, Unhealthy Relationships, no beta we die like jason todd, or rather suspicion of manipulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27329458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Marron/pseuds/The_Marron
Summary: In another universe Jason takes Talia’s money, her connections and flies off to Europe to train, to come back as the Red Hood to hunt down his replacement and to punish Bruce for his inability to act. In that universe he is angry, hurting but free.  He has the chance to grow, to start over.In this universe, he doesn’t. In this universe Jason runs before Talia can get her claws into him and makes his way to Gotham on his own, only to be recruited by the Court of Owls.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	We Watch and Burn and Reign

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to say that this is mostly based on Batman vs Robin movie but it's a mix of different versions of these characters- Jason is mostly influenced by his Death in the Family (2020) movie version, Tim is a mixture of his Young Justice (TV series), Injustice 2 and comic book selves and I'll apologize for this mish-mash when a) DC picks one continuity and stops rebooting it every 5 years and b) starts treating Tim with love he deserves, so, yeah, I'm not apologizing any time soon. Enjoy!

This is the last one for tonight. The man gurgles on his blood and slides down the wall leaving a bloody smear on it. The police is going to have a lot to cover, the man tried to put up a fight but he stood no chance. He didn’t even land a hit on his assailant. The GCPD will not have much to go on, he made sure not to leave any traces. He never does. He’s a legend, after all. Just a spectre, a figure from a nursery rhyme.

He leaves the scene of crime knowing that the authorities will not be any wiser for at least two hours. He’s gotten pretty good at the job.

He makes his way home through the shadows, making sure that no one spots him. He’d hate to get rid of witnesses on top of the busy night he’s had today.

The sun will be up soon and he needs his rest, besides his eyes are no longer suitable to survive daylight. A small price to pay for the gift of seeing through the darkness. He fits here better. Here, in the dark alleys, his uniform smeared with blood, another name crossed out of the list, seeing the difference he makes.

Daylight was never for him. It hid too much, it welcomed the biggest scum of Earth, it forgave. Shadows never did.

He lands on the roof of his nest and sees through the skylight that the artificial light is on.

“I thought you were supposed to be at the meeting.” He says, as he closes the door leading to the roof behind him. He doesn’t need to guess who is making themselves comfortable in his kitchen. There is only one person that it could be.

“It got cancelled, the Chairman suspects Bats are on our trail and we are not ready to face them just yet.” The voice sounds amused.

He closes his eyes, willing them to get used to the artificial light once again. When he opens them, the intruder is right in front of him, handing him a cup of tea. He is still in his suit, possibly came here straight from work, just after he was informed that the meeting is postponed.

“Why are you here?” He asks, as usual, not expecting an informative reply. He’s never gotten one before, he doesn’t think he will get one now.

“Welcome home, Jason.” Tim says and Jason sinks into him, his question long forgotten.

*

In another universe Jason takes Talia’s money, her connections and flies off to Europe to train, to come back as the Red Hood to hunt down his replacement and to punish Bruce for his inability to act. In that universe he is angry, hurting but free. He has the chance to grow, to start over.

In this universe, he doesn’t. In this universe Jason runs before Talia can get her claws into him and makes his way to Gotham on his own. Hungry, exhausted, The Pit Rage still thrumming in his veins, but he is back.

He doesn’t know how they find him, he is a bit delirious at this point, aimlessly laying in some abandoned loft and wondering what is the point of being back when he can barely move from hunger, but he allows them to take him.

Two shadows bring him to an undisclosed location and he is thrown in the center of some circular room, a court room of sorts. There are dozens of people in white masks staring at him at he wonders if this is what his short-lived resurrection ends in. In a Final Judgment delivered by a group of maniacs in suits.

“ _Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time,_

_Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime._

_They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed._

_Speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send the Talon for your head.”_

The masked crowd chants, sounding suspiciously like a cult, but Jason keeps quiet. If they want to sacrifice him to some owl god, he will start to protest. Until then, he is willing to listen.

“Right. Your point?” He says, hoping that his voice sounds less tired than he feels. He barely feels like himself these days, not sure who ‘himself’ even is, but the last thing he wants is to appear weak.

A man in a white suit with a red cape thrown over it raises his hand and the courtroom falls silent. That’s the boss, then.

“We are the noble sons and daughters of Gotham, our aim is to rule the city, to protect it, help it evolve. We are here to make sure that the inheritance of our ancestors is not wasted, we are now reborn to free Gotham of the scourge and pestilence that eats at it every day, every hour...”

Jason has some experience in listening to lengthy monologues so he lets the man’s voice fade away as he focuses on his surroundings. The place might have been a theatre before, he decides. The seats of the so-called Court of Owls are too high for him to jump on from the floor and there is nothing down there that could help him up. The rest of the Owls listen to their leader as if in a trance except… Jason feels someone’s eyes trained solely on him. He searches. There, on the left, third row. There is a short man, a boy even, whose mask does a poor job of concealing his interest with Jason. So not all of them are drones.

“We offer you the glorious position of the Talon, the guardian and enforcer, the Court’s loyal sword.” Jason wants to laugh at the pompous choice of words but then his brain catches up with the bigger picture.

“You want me to be your private assassin.” He states. The leader shakes his head.

“We want you to be the guardian. Gotham needs help and Batman and his pitiful attempts at justice are doing more damage than good. The Court won’t stand for it. We need our own champion, one that won’t entertain the lunatics and send them on pricey vacation to Arkham. We need someone who can pull the trigger when necessary.”

Jason feels his initial resistance disappear at the mention of Batman.

*

The first time he meets the small Owl from the third row is few weeks later. The Court decided to give him his own apartment, allowing him to choose his own exercise regimen, giving him communication and supplying with food and drinks according to his wishes. He doesn’t like the place if he is to be honest, but he doesn’t have to like it. He is here to do what Bruce will never able to do – he is going to make a change. And if he gets to kill the Joker – then all of this will be worth it.

He has to check up with the Court regularly and they oversee his return to shape with satisfaction. The Great Master tells him that he will be sent to the field soon and Jason cannot wait. He is far from what he had been while escaping from Talia, his body to weak to handle the training of the League of Assassins still ingrained in his muscles. Still, the concoctions they give him to fully change him into a Talon are working. He feels himself growing faster and stronger with every dose, he is also better with darkness. Soon he will see only in the dark, but that doesn’t bother him. There isn’t much daylight has to offer to Jason Todd, the dead-boy walking.

He comes willingly when the Court summons him and while he enters the Chamber of Talons or whatever fancy name they gave to the laboratory with zombies of the previous assassins, he is surprised to see that someone is already there.

A kid, from the looks of it. Black hair, blue eyes and a suit… It clicks in his mind, this is the one who stared at him so intently. The one owl that _looked_.

“Hi.” The kid says, a bit unsure and Jason wonders if he is even supposed to be here, or if he should be chased away. The kid seems to somehow gather Jason’s train of thought because he shakes his head a bit.

“I’m here to help you with the armour. I can add some things to the old designs, if you need them, every Talon is different, I mean the real ones are, the reanimated ones are pretty the same, they cannot handle anything technologically advanced, so there is no point in giving them any gadgets, but you on the other hand....” The boy says and he sounds calm and collected, as if some switch went off in his head and changed his from awkward teen into a competent strategist.

“I need something heavy.” He replies and the kid nods.

“What do you plan to use? Claws and blades seem like a traditional choice but if you want something else I will have to rebalance the armour a little…”

He spends a whole night with the boy, discussing different techniques, weapons and metals, trying to adjust the Talon to Jason, and Jason leaves without even knowing the kid’s name.

*

It’s his fifth mission that the things go south. The victim, a fucking child-rapist fights back and he manages a lucky hit in his thigh and Jason swears. He rips the man’s throat out but he keeps bleeding all the way to the safe house. Taking the roofs is a safer option but it puts a strain on the wound and Jason is barely lucid when he finally closes the door behind him. He plans to get himself to the bathroom to clean the wound and wrap it up, see if it requires stitches but he is so tired…

It takes him a moment to realize that someone is already in his apartment. He has one of his knives ready to strike, when the intruder gets up from the couch and runs toward him, worry clear on his pale face. The kid again.

“Talon! I couldn’t overtake you on the streets so I decided to wait here, I’m sorry for breaking in and all, but I’ve got the aid kit and I can help.” He says, not waiting for Jason to reply. He follows the boy into the bathroom where there is a bowl full of hot water already prepared.

Jason is too dizzy to protest when the boy forces him to sit down and cuts out bits of Jason’s uniform to clear the wound.

Jason doesn’t remember much after that.

He wakes up in his bed alone, with a bandage on his thigh and a bunch of painkillers and a glass of water on the floor beside the bed.

He still doesn’t know the kid’s name. Or how he knew Jason was wounded in the first place.

*

Jason gets better with time. He becomes more precise, more deadly, more skillful. And he hates the Court more every day. Yes, the people they have him kill all deserve it and the data the Court gives him is always on point, he wouldn’t have been able to find so many criminals and dirtbags on his own but he cannot bear the fact that he has no choice over the matter. The Court’s orders are final and Jason tried to convince them that letting this drug lord or that crooked cop live would be more profitable in the long run on more than one occasion. He is never listened to. He obeys but hates himself for the obedience.

He also hates being manipulated. Jason Todd was brought up by the Batman, he knows what manipulation is. Sending him a blue-eyed kid to worry about him, to make him feels like he is important, like someone cares if he comes back or not, that is low. And yet this is precisely what the Court is doing. The damned kid is everywhere, monitoring Jason’s wounds, tending to him when needed, talking to him in the Chamber of Talons. Jason is not stupid. No one would like an assassin unless they had business in doing so.

Still, he never sends the kid away.

*

The first time he sees Batman and his new Robin Jason _burns_. It feels like he is on fire, every cell in his body screaming at him to follow them to kill, to tear them into pieces. He wants Bruce to watch another one of his precious boys killed right in front of his eyes, he want him to hurt and he wants him to know that this was his fault that Jason, that Jason…

When he comes to, he is in his apartment, his knife pressed against someone’s throat. He blinks.

The kid. Of course it’s the fucking kid, who else.

He looks into these frightened blue eyes and this is the moment it hit him.

He has _no idea_ what happened. He doesn’t remember coming here, he doesn’t remember seeing the kid at all. The last thing he remembers is seeing Batman and… The rage simmers underneath his skin so he stops that train of thought.

The kid coughs and Jason takes a step back to give him some room, fully expecting him to run away. He doesn’t. Instead he looks at him with something like a grim satisfaction.

“Look, kid…” Jason starts, but he is interrupted by another cough.

“I’m an adult, you know?” And Jason really wants to reply with something biting, but he can see the bruises forming on the other’s neck. There is also a slight trace of blood, probably from where the knife was pressed against the soft skin. He doesn’t have it in him to be an asshole now.

“What are you doing here?” The man stands up and spreads his arms in a gesture clearly asking Jason to look around. The place is a mess. Everything, the furniture, the armours, clothes, everything is torn to pieces. As if a tornado with claws made its way through the flat.

“You were unhinged, Talon. I brought you here before you could betray your presence to the Batman, or even worse, to the police. You didn’t appreciate it.” The boy says and heads for the bathroom, as if getting patched up after bringing an insane assassin home was something he did regularly. What the fuck.

“Why you?” Jason asks, following him to the bathroom. The kid stays there shirtless, using Jason’s own towel to clean the cut up. His torso looks even worse. Jason wonders if he broke the kid’s ribs. He hates himself for that thought.

“Because I expected this would happen and I was prepared for it. The Court doesn’t know who you are; they know you’ve escaped from the League of Assassins and that’s it. I had a pretty good guess and I assumed that running into… er, B might be a trigger and you two running into each other at some point was rather inevitable.” The kid says and turns to look at Jason. “Can I borrow a shirt?”

Jason’s body moves as if on autopilot as he rummages through the remains of his wardrobe, searching for something resembling a shirt. His mind races. What does the kid know? Who else knows? He says that the Court doesn’t, but he works for the Court so he is probably lying, and yet…

He returns with a shirt that survived Jason’s rampage and hands it to the kid.

“What do you know?”

Blue eyes turn to look at him with a sad glint.

“I know what happened to Jason Todd, the boy who was my hero”

*

Things get complicated after that. Jason still serves as the Talon, despite all of his instincts screaming at him that every kill, every order seems more like personal revenge killings than anything else. His Pit rages, as the kid calls them are less destructive and less frequent with time. ‘ _Your body is re-learning how to be you without the Lazarus Pit. They will disappear on their own, I think_ ,’ the kid said and Jason believes him. If someone is smart enough to figure out how Jason came back to life just from having a knife pressed to their neck, they are probably worth listening to. He wants to ask the kid about the Batman’s identity, if he knows who Robin was, he probably knows who Batman is, but he cannot bring himself to do so. He still doesn’t want to speak about Bruce if he doesn’t have to.

So he focuses his thoughts on the kid. A young member of the Court of Owls who somehow has enough time and resources to keep tabs on the Court’s personal mad dog. Jason wonders why they chose this particular kid to be his handler. Oh, no one stated this out loud, but there is no other reason for the kid to be as involved with Jason as he is.

It’s all subtle, and frankly, very well done. The kid often says that the Court doesn’t know, that they didn’t send him, that he is here only because he admired Jason when he was younger. Pretty lies, all of them, but he is so good at selling them that despite knowing that this is all just a game, a manipulation tactic, Jason sees it work. He feels disappointed when the kid is not waiting for him at his safe house, he looks for him at Court gatherings where he delivers his reports, he wants… Jason doesn’t even know what he wants, but the kid is his only relationship and sometimes, as he drifts to sleep, Jason admits that he is ready to accept the lie, the false pretences, to pretend he believes just so that the kid would continue to perform his role.

Jason stays and kills for the Court but he has a different owner. He wonders if the Chairman notices.

*

He is ordered to befriend Robin.

Jason wants to smash things. Even after all this time, after all the people he’s killed and all the good he’s done in Gotham and somehow it is still all about Batman. It seems as if Gotham only lived because of its hatred and love for the man, depending on who you ask.

He comes back to his safe house and he is not disappointed. The Court knew he is displeased with the task so they sent him their best enforcer to make sure the order is carried out.

“Get out.” Jason orders, not in the mood for mind games. He knows he is still going to do what the Court told him to do, he knows he is caught up in their trap and he even accepts this, but he doesn’t need a walking reminder of how easy it was to tame him.

“I just want to talk” The kid says, and oh, they must think he is really close to deserting because he looks even better than usual. He’s not in his suit, no, he is as casual as can be, in jeans and T-shirt, his hair in a ponytail, a perfect parody of a normal human being concerned for a loved one. Jason hates himself for things it does to him, but he refuses to go down without a fight.

“What about? I received my order, I’m going to carry it out, that’s it. There, you can run to the Chairman and tell him you did your job, you’re sure of Talon’s loyalty, whatever, just get out of here!” He snarls the last part and the boy flinches a bit but refuses to budge.

“They don’t know how personal this is for you. I do. I thought… Maybe you shouldn’t be alone after an order like that.”

Jason laughs.

“What, afraid I will go into a Lazarus rampage and destroy everything the Court has been working for?” The boy glares at him.

“You refuse to believe anything I tell you, apparently, so why should I reply? If it makes you feel better, you can attack me again, it seemed to help you the last time.” The kid replies, bitterness clear in his voice, and Jason hesitates.

“I…”

“I told you, I know what happened to you Jason and I don’t want you to deal with it on your own. I doubt any al Ghul took time to help you with the trauma and the Court certainly won’t be bothered with your mental state until you start messing up and then they will probably decommission you instead of helping and I won’t have it, Jason. I won’t. So scream, shout, beat me up with you must, but for God’s sake, talk to me.”

His voice, though pleading is full of passion and it’s hard not to be moved by it. All fight leaves Jason and he takes off his mask to look at the kid with his own eyes.

“I don’t even know when to start.” The kid visibly relaxes. He approaches Jason cautiously and seeing no hint of an attack, he takes his hands into his own, not minding the talons, the amount of blood these hand soaked in.

“Tell me about your Robin.” The kid says.

Jason does.

*

He learns the kid’s name the day Jack Drake dies. Even though Jason doesn’t leave the safe house during the day, it is hard to miss the news since it’s everywhere – on the TV in papers, everywhere. And the reporters do love the drama so Drake’s son is featured alongside the short report of the Drake’s death. The moment Jason sees the photo of the young Timothy Jackson Drake, he cannot stop thinking about it. The boy who cares for him is no longer an anonymous face in the crowd, no longer just the thirty-third seat in the court of Owls. No, he is now a human being, a human being that lost his father and Jason needs… _Wants_ to be sure.

He finishes his job for the night as quickly as possible and makes his way to the Drake manor. He never knew it was so close to the place he once called home. When he gets there, the house is silent, there are no grieving relatives, no lights on.

He enters either way, confident in his ability to make his gateway if needed. He walks through the main door, not bothering with any stealth. There is no one downstairs, the house seems barely lived in.

When he gets upstairs, he starts to wonder if the place isn’t abandoned. Maybe the death of his parent is too much, maybe Timothy decided this was enough and he cannot pretend to be invested in Talon now, maybe he decided to disappear… He finds what seems Timothy’s bedroom. It’s rather pristine, not a book out of place. What captures Jason’s attention are the albums – there are plenty of them and Jason feels the need to see Timothy outside of the Court, he want to believe that the kid is more than a drone working for the Court.

He opens the album that seemed the oldest – its covers worn and dog-eared. He expects to see photos of Timothy as a child, with his parents maybe, anything. Instead, he is looking at himself as he was a lifetime ago. The album is full of pictures of Batman and Robin, of both Robins actually, because in some of them Jason recognizes Dick. The kid truly knew about Jason before the Court. It’s a relief but it produces more questions than answers – why Timothy bothered with him? Why care for his fallen hero, for a man who ended up just a disappointment?

Before he can move to another album, he hears something shuffle in the room next to this. There is someone in the house after all. Jason puts the album back to its place and moves towards the source of the noise.

There, in the bedroom right next to his own, there sits Timothy Drake, perched on his father’s working desk, looking through the window, his black hair shining in the moonlight.

He doesn’t seem surprised when he notices the Talon in his bedroom.

“Are you here for my head, Jason?” he asks, as if it a logical conclusion, as if he hadn’t done everything in his power to bound Jason to himself, as if he hadn’t made himself indispensable.

“No. Never.” He replies and comes closer. Timothy doesn’t move an inch, just observing Jason with his sad, blue eyes.

“I think they will get rid of me soon. I’m not contributing much to the Court and now that he is dead I’ll have to take over the company or sell it to Bruce Wayne… In either case, I’d be rather powerless and the Court does not tolerate useless members.” He explains as if waiting for Jason to change his mind and slit Timothy’s throat.

“I won’t obey that order, if it comes.” He says simply and takes off the helmet to allow Timothy to look him in the eyes, to make sure. He comes even closer, his gaze trained on the kid in front of him. There is a part of him that keeps shouting at him for allowing himself to be put on the leash, for telling this boy how much power he has over Jason. Trusting people never ended well for him but for some reason he can’t stop himself. _Seeing manipulation is not the same as being immune to it_ , Bruce once said and Jason sees the truth in it. Maybe Timothy wants Jason’s loyalty to himself; maybe he really never cared for the Court. Maybe he just wanted his own, personal Talon and now he has one.

“He was never there, you know? I was always here, day after day and he and mother were away. I followed you through the city and they never noticed. They were never there, even though they always came back for a week or two and now he is dead, he is gone for good and I can’t even feel the difference.” Timothy confesses and there are tears running down his cheek and Jason is not a strong man, so he moves and joins their lips together, feeling as if he’s just sealed his fate.

He's just given his heart away, hoping its new owner won't abuse it too much.

Timothy’s lips move against his and Jason stops caring about anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> So, few things that are kinda important here - while they are not exactly destructive towards one another, the relationship here is far from healthy. Tim is the only person in Jason's life at this point and Jason has his issues with anger and I cannot tell you yet what Tim's deal is so yeah, definitely not healthy. Just needed to explain the tags, I guess.
> 
> Also - I've thrown a bunch of headcanons about Talons and the Court taken from the movie Batman vs Robin together so it might be not true to the comics but oh well. 
> 
> Title from Bertie Blackman's 'Byrds of Prey', the whole song seems fitting.


End file.
